I’ve posted about a story called “The Star Thrower” in the past (see “I made a difference to that one”). The story is paraphrased from a 16-page essay by the philosopher and writer, Loren Eiseley and has become quite popular on the motivational speaker's circuit (see the most popular version, here). The story goes like this:
One day a man was walking along the beach, when he noticed a boy hurriedly picking up and gently throwing things into the ocean.
Approaching the boy, he asked, "Young man, what are you doing?"
The boy replied, "Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them back, they'll die."
The man laughed to himself and said, "Don't you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can't make any difference."
After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said,
"I made a difference to that one."
We are living in difficult times, and all of us could easily fall into a pit of despair. “What difference can one person make in a world like this?” “How in the world can I do anything to help solve the problems of today?” My answer is simple. It only takes ONE person doing ONE small positive change to make a difference. As you think about what you can do in 2024 to make the world a better place, I ask you to think about the boy in “The Star Thrower” story - he didn’t care about the herculean task ahead of him. He thought how he could make an impact with one small and simple act of kindness. Happy New Year and best wishes to you in 2024!
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